Repo! the Genetic Opera (3.5/5)

Repo! The Genetic Opera was started as a stage play written by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich around 1998; the original play took place in the same world as Repo! but told the story of the Graverobber (played by Zdunich) who produces and sells a street version of Zydrate, a powerful pain killer. Zdunich appears in Repo! as the Graverobber, though in the film the character takes on the role of a narrator. The play eventually evolved a short film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who then went on to direct the feature length film. Even though Repo! came out less than 5 years ago, was shot in 3 days, and had an 8.5 million budget, it has become a cult phenomenon and has already started being shown at special midnight live shows, similar to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Repo! is a musical that takes place in the not so distant future. A few decades before the beginning of the film an epidemic of organ failures kills millions and creates a market for the commercial sale of organs by the massive corporation GeneCo. Naturally, most people cannot afford to buy organs so GeneCo institutes organ financing and turns surgery into a fashion statement which leads to a large portion of the population falling into debt. Using his political power and popularity GeneCo’s founder, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino), convinces congress to legalize organ repossession! That’s right, fall behind on your liver payments and the repo man will hunt you down and cut it right out of you; if you survive the repossession, good for you, if not, too damn bad!

Repo! follows the story of a 17 year old girl named Shiloh (Alexa Vega) who, due to a mysterious blood disease that supposedly killed her mother, is held prisoner in her own home by her overprotective father (Anthony Stewart Head) who is also a brilliant doctor and, secretly, a repo man. Shiloh’s father, Nathan, and dead mother, Marni, are both connected to Rotti Largo, his three deviant children (Bill Mosely, Nivek Ogre, and Paris Hilton), and Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman), a singer employed by GeneCo. When the film begins Rotti Largo, “the man who cured the globe”, has ironically been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Faced with his own impending death, Rotti must decide who will inherit GeneCo and disappointed with his own children he toys with the idea of leaving the company to Shiloh. Of course, everyone in this film has a hidden agenda and Rotti’s seemingly generous proposition comes with a few unsavory conditions that will endanger Shiloh, her father, and their already rocky relationship.

The premise of Repo! is creative and unique, or it was until Repo Men ripped it off, and is so simultaneously gory, cartoony, catchy, and bizarre that it doesn’t really have a proper genre. In fact the only movie I can compare it too is the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Repo!, therefore, typically only appeals to the kind of odd, morally ambiguous, and slightly insane kind of freaks that dress up every Halloween to go to a cheap theater to hurl toast and rice at the screen while loudly accusing Susan Sarandon of being a slut and Barry Bostwick of being an asshole, i.e. me.

I won’t lie, Repo! could have better lyrics, less melodrama, and a better script, but, just like Rocky Horror, Repo!’s flaws are part of what makes it lovable. Ultimately, Repo! is very difficult to rate because it’s one of those love it or hate it kind of movies; if you love Rocky Horror, I’d give Repo! a try, but if you are uncomfortable with the idea of Tim Curry parading around in a corset, fishnets, and heels, Repo! is probably not for you.

Repo! the Genetic Opera IMDb page